Saturday 3 April 2010

"Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings"




Attempt:
Around a year back someone had asked me, "What does Stairway to heaven mean?" I had given him a little perception of the song. Then I went hunting on the net. What next shocked me was the various range of explanations I found for the same, ranging from God believing Christian fanatic views to extremely dark Satanic views, and all these views suit the song so well its hard to tell what is true and what is not. 

The God believing Christian view of it is as follows:
There is a lady entwined in the materialistic pleasures of the world. She is so engulfed by the mortal pleasures to the extent that a word fetches her all her hearts desires to an extent that she thinks she can buy her stairway to heaven. But, she doesn't find the store  that sells her the stairway to heaven; but she's determined to find it; as she's been blinded by her stubborn nature.
And the materialistic world has made her shrewd enough to make sure that when she does buy it, it is what she paid for. Songbird, is symbolic of angel incarnate as music is deemed to be good and pure much like an angel; and preaches that all of our views are dyed with misconceptions that we bear of today's world.
There is a feeling that overpowers Plant when he looks towards the setting sun as it yearns to be liberated and attain moksha. His thoughts symbolically represent him being stranded amidst a burning forest (more thoughts) yet he finds the will to stand strong and be faithful to his beliefs. This prevailing confusion makes him ponder. It could also be symbolic to deforestation and how we are all not doing anything about it.
While being lost the only thing that is keeping him positive is that somewhere his conscience whispers to him that singing the tune of faith, Jesus will lead them to reason. It will lead to a new day that will echo with laughter of triumph of all that is good, with forests reclaiming the land.
If there is a sound in the forest don't be alarmed it is God weeding out the evil and all that is good in the world prevails. The May Queen signifies the Queen of bloom and the season for blossom, representing all that good is in full bloom. There is always two ways you can approach a problem; as an ancient Sanskrit text (Samyutta Nikaaya) reads,"Tasmaa satan ca asatan ca naanaa hot ito gati, asanto nirayam yanti santo saggaparaayanaa" meaning, "Therefore do the paths of the good and the evil of this world divide; the evil go to hell but the final destination of the good is heaven.” We always have the option of changing what and how we do something; it is never too late to 'change the road you're on'.
Once you're enlightened by the ways of God, you will be attracted by the sheer vitality of His existence. Referring to the old lady's idea of buying your way into heaven is fleeting with the wind.
And as year goes by with barely any time left to live, we all know of a lady who irrespective of her age is still not wise or realistic as she still believes she can buy her way into heaven.
If and when you open your souls to the truth, after the spring cleaning of the May Queen all are together and equal, and to put an end to moribund thinking and come to rest and attain nirvana. 
While some of us get wiser there are and will always be people who believe they can buy their way into heaven.

Satanic version:
The satanic version is very inane as only certain parts of it show complete relevance while other parts just seems a forced upon thinking.
"There's a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
'cause you know sometimes words have two meanings."
This humours one's sense of hell and heaven. If Plant were a devil worshipper he would think of hell as heaven.


"There's a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving".
Christians believe that Jesus will arrive from the east and hence are buried facing east. Looking at the west shows that he is yearning to be one with Satan at its earliest.


"And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul".
In this part of the song it refers to our shadows as something darker and possibly "evil" and our souls are usually referred to as something holy. Our shadows are taller than our souls could refer to being on the path of hell.


"Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.”
This raptures that in the end you will be rewarded for the path you take.



History:
There are several accounts of the song's existence. In one, Plant says that he wrote it after a period spent before the fire contemplating “spiritual perfection” at the band’s country house in Headley Grange. In another, Plant says that Page played him the chord changes and his hand spontaneously began writing the immortal first words. In another version, Page recalls that Plant jotted down about three quarters of the lyrics on the spot at the band’s very first rehearsal of the song. Stephen Davis maintains that Plant had written under the spell of Lewis Spence, particularly his Magic Arts in Great Britain. Of course, these versions are not mutually exclusive – one or more could be combined. This was considered as Plant's epiphany of spiritualism.

Perceptions:
The Christian views believed that Heaven and Christianity was so ideally represented, that God gifted Led Zep with the #1 spot in all music countdown thereafter even now! While songs like "Highway to Hell" ended up being just another song in the history of rock. "The key to understanding ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is in the cover art on the album. On the back is a prophet on a hill holding a lantern with a six pointed star in it.This is a direct reference to the world of sacred geometry, which has a connection to the world of the occult. (Hence the connection with Aliester Crowly). When you start to understand the teachings of Plato, and why the sign over his academy read, “Let no man enter here who does not understand geometry”, you will begin to understand how the song was created, and why it resonates with our souls.You will also begin to understand that the lyrics of the song is a prophecy that has only started to become relavent in the last few years, and consequently, could not have been correctly interpreted before this time."

Satanic believers have their own set of beliefs, obviously. It is believed that Plant was heavily intoxicated when he was at Headley Grange and he saw Satan speak to him through the flames in the bonfire and he promised him sheer success if he were to write a song preaching Satan's dark words. It is believed that Plant agreed and fudged back-masking into the song dedicating the song to Satan on a global platform. 

I don't believe that Zepellin intentionally put the stuff about Satan in there, but rather that they did draw these dark entities into their music via their lifestyle and Page's then fascination with Aleister Crowley. This pact is also to be held responsible for the death of John Bonham; another price that the band had to pay for their success. Obviously Led Zep denies this, who wouldn't!

Back-masking:
Back-masking is a way of hiding messages which are revealed once played backward. 

The lyrics turn into:
"Plaaaay backwards,
Hear why its sung here, oppositioner..
Allll on track, all arriving
They all sing, and they are one.
Shall I loathe you now, parishoner?
Oh hear Him, Christian within me.
It stirs my sin; the river,
Oh, she swells with our lousiness.
All my life will end for him?
We’re all out of signs,
I know I’m sorta shocked
To hear The Lord,
My God now will save me!
Oh I will n’er be saved,
Because I live with Satan..
One wish today;
That you’ll all pray for
Three who will make it here late.
Pray now and you’ll see..
The ‘Lord’ turned me on,
But, oh, I was the shaggy fool..
Clothed in agony,
Lost at a height.
There’s No Escaping it.

Nor his woes.. 
So here’s to my Sweet Satan. 
The one who’s little path 
Would make me sad, 
Whose power is satan. 
He’ll give you 666. 
there was a little toolshed, 
where he made 
us suffer sad Satan. 
Ohohohoh... 
“Family won’t get loose, 
They’re offered me”
Always soothes the worker. 
Always will be as we know now 
“I see ruins,” said he, 
“the world they offered me? 
Who wished the Lord’s fall”
If we lose feather, 
Say you’ll save me! 

And no wimps can bend the rules.. 
And no wimps can do.. 

Hunt next to the shore, 
‘Cause they see all from there, 
See here’s the news, 
Who walks with mute grief! 
Perhaps no-one found thee... 
“Heavy, lift me out,” 
Spake the Reve, 
“Someday, failed, we’ll lose one line-up, 
They’ve gotta leave forsaken”

And no wimps can do.. 
And no wimps can do... 

He, who say the lords 
Thoth have our laws, 
Maat must be superb. Mass is ended.. 
Over there, 
He who should learn thee. 
Any moot that serves by my sworn music, 
I wish it with snow be shushed, All for my mass’s sake. 
Hear why its sung, 
here, oppositioner, Ohh.. 
He who should show 
May make his show worthy, 
To look, for us, odd.. sickly, 
There’s one chance - take his show. 
Hold thy head, 
Hear why its sung here. oppositioner. 
Who owns this earth built below? 
Oh sweet Israel… "


Well I have heard it too and it sounds exactly like that. While I agree the content is true; I find it highly unlikely that he had intentionally put all this content in there. What I guess makes up my mind is that I'm listening to it when it plays forward so the backward content of it is really irrelevant.

Spiritualism, is very complex, bearing a certain sense of duality. You can interpret it in any form you wish to. It is like Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, meaning we can't really know the truth, but merely seek glimpses of it.